Allahabad High Court pulls up State for delay in compensating minor rape victim

The Allahabad High Court on Monday expressed dismay over the delay in the payment of compensation under a beneficial scheme to a minor rape victim.

A Bench of Justices Shekhar B Saraf and Prashant Kumar said it was unable to understand the apathy shown by the authorities and added that the officials responsible for the lapse must be held accountable.

The Court was dealing with a petition filed by the rape victim to secure compensation payable to her under the Uttar Pradesh Rani Lakshmi Bai Mahila Samman Kosh Rules, 2015.

"Till today when the matter was called on, that is, on October 27, 2025, not a single penny has been received by the petitioner/victim. One is unable to understand the apathy of the police officers/statutory authorities, who are required to make this payment under the beneficial scheme provided by the State Government. The entire purpose of providing the compensation to the victims of such a gruesome crime is that the pain of the victim can be soothed urgently and the financial exigency relating to medical treatment may be addressed immediately," the Court observed.

It added that such delays in granting compensation to rape victims would only worsen their suffering.

"Victims not only go through physical pain and anguish but also suffer severe mental trauma. The very act of delaying payments under such beneficial legislation, further adds to the agony and exacerbates the pain and suffering of the victim. The fact that the victim has to further incur costs to file a writ petition for obtaining the compensation that she is entitled to under the law augments the very ordeal that the victim has suffered," the Court said.

The Uttar Pradesh Rani Lakshmi Bai Mahila Samman Kosh Rules, 2015 provide for the grant of compensation to victims of heinous and violent crimes.

The case at hand concerned a minor girl who was raped in May this year. Under the 2015 Rules, she was eligible to get ₹3 lakh as compensation in two installments within a month of the chargesheet being filed. In this case, the chargesheet was filed on June 25.

However, the local State authorities failed to grant the compensation within this time frame. This prompted the victim to file a petition through her father before the High Court for the payment of this compensation.

"It is indeed astounding to find that the victim has been forced to file this writ petition on September 9, 2025 for non payment of any of the said instalments to the victim," the Court said.

It further noted that days after the writ petition was filed, the concerned officers sought the bank details of the victim so that the compensation that she was entitled to could be sent to her. However, nothing was done beyond this, and the Court criticised the authorities for failing to deposit a "single penny" in the victim's bank account.

The Court proceeded to order the authorities to pay the ₹3 lakh compensation within three days. It also ordered the concerned officials of the district steering committee (chaired by the district magistrate of Lakhimpur Kheri) tasked with distributing such compensation, to pay an additional ₹2 lakh to the victim for the delays noticed in this case.

This additional payment has to be paid within 15 days, the Court said.

"Officials who are responsible for the egregious procrastination should be held responsible and accountability should be fastened on them. We are of the view that the reprehensible inaction and laissez faire attitude of the officials concerned requires costs to be imposed on them," the Court explained.

It added that the State government is at liberty to deduct the additional ₹2 lakh amount from the officials responsible for the delay in paying the victim compensation and that departmental action can also be initiated against such officers.

Advocate Mohammad Irfan Siddiqui appeared for the petitioner.

[Read Order]